UK

The United Kingdom accounts for more than one fifth of the global art market sales and is the second biggest art market after the US.

Through auctioneers, dealers, fairs and markets - and a burgeoning online sector - buyers, collectors and sellers of art and antiques can easily access a vibrant network of intermediaries and events around the country. The UK's museums also house a wealth of impressive collections

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Medal awarded to the militant Irish Suffragette who tried to blow up a cathedral comes to auction

21 July 2018

It’s déjà vu all over again… yes, we bring you another excellent and evocative Suffragette item of memorabilia up at auction in this, the centenary year of the signing of the Qualification of Women Act. In other words, votes for women in the UK – aged over 30, that is.

'Sketch of the Analytical Engine' by Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace computing book taken to £95,000 at Cirencester auction

20 July 2018

A book by the 19th century computer pioneer Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) – known as ‘the Countess of Computing’ – has sold for £95,000 at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester.

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Nelson memorabilia sails into auction for collecting options at various price points

20 July 2018

Whether your budget runs to four figures or a hefty six figures, two lots sold recently show how various price options can be available in a certain collecting market – in this case, Nelson memorabilia.

Pencil holder

Personal effects of former King Edward VIII and wife Wallis Simpson head to auction

19 July 2018

A watch, writing set and magnifying glass belonging to the controversial couple the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - the former King Edward VIII and wife Wallis Simpson - will be offered at auction this weekend.

The Man

Can’t you hear me bidding? Rolling Stones legend Charlie Watts’ former home has items going under the hammer in Gloucestershire

19 July 2018

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get one of the objects from a former home of Charlie Watts, the legendary Rolling Stones drummer.

Carpathia gold medal

Liverpool hero’s gold medal from Titanic rescue offered at Buckinghamshire auction

18 July 2018

A gold medal awarded to the bursar on board the RMS Carpathia, the ship that famously rescued survivors from the Titanic in 1912, will be offered at Bourne End Auction Rooms this summer.

Houses of Parliament

Ivory bill's "kafkaesque process of registration" criticised in House of Lords

18 July 2018

Members of the House of Lords have called for amendments to the bill to ban the trade in objects made of or containing ivory.

Blockchain conference Christies

Blockchain could be “subtle botox” for the art market but not a “facelift”

17 July 2018

Blockchain for the art world is a big opportunity but caution is needed. That was the verdict from Christie’s Art + Tech Summit.

Potteries Auctions

Staffordshire auction house expands in the Potteries

17 July 2018

Staffordshire’s Potteries Auctions is expanding with a second saleroom to increase its auction frequency to two a month.

Wuthering Heights

Dealer offers first American edition of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights to mark 200th anniversary

17 July 2018

A first edition of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is among the Brontë books being offered by rare bookseller Peter Harrington to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Emily Brontë on July 30.

Bottle

The £30 bottle once thought to be fake is now the real auction deal at £18,000

16 July 2018

A Yorkshire collector who bought what he thought was a replica antique bottle at a fair for just £30 has sold it for a hammer price of £18,000 at auction after discovering it really was from the 17th century.

Dealer-led art fair to launch at Mall Galleries

16 July 2018

‘Affordable mid-point fair’ will open in January to encourage face-to-face trade

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Medal fair free to exhibit under new owner

16 July 2018

London saleroom Dix Noonan Webb has bought the 'Britannia Medal Fair' “to ensure that it can remain at the Victory Services Club”, the central London venue where it has attracted dealers and collectors for more than 30 years.

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Pick of the week: Hours and centuries of famous owners

16 July 2018

Estimated at £200,000-300,000, the 'Hours of Isabella d’Este' sold at £340,000 (plus buyer’s premium) at Bloomsbury Auctions’ sale of Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures on July 10.

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More UK auction houses join Asian festival

16 July 2018

Asian Art in London, the event that promotes London as the centre of the global Asian art trade, has increased the number of its auction house participants for the 21st edition (November 1-10).

BADA aims: a selling portal and joint legal fund

16 July 2018

I would like to extend my warm congratulations and warm welcome to Freya Simms as the new LAPADA chief executive, writes BADA chairman and dealer Michael Cohen.

Pietro Crescenzi

White-glove sale for agriculture library at Forum Auctions

16 July 2018

A white-glove sale of a 3000-book agriculture library reached a hammer total of £1.76m over two days at Forum Auctions last week.

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Roman glass yields some affordable luxuries

16 July 2018

While the big-money lots often steal the headlines, much of the antiquities market remains affordable.

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Malvern flea looks for bumper summer

16 July 2018

After a slow start to the year, the Malvern Flea and Collectors’ Fair is looking forward to a bumper summer.

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Dealer's show mixing old and new on the surface

16 July 2018

The rise of modern and contemporary collectors buying antiquities has energised dealers and auction houses to juxtapose old with new. But it can be hard to pull off.

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